“Laser technology is ideal for boosting downlink communications from deep space,” said Abi Biswas, the supervisor of the Optical Communications Systems group at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California.

“It will eventually allow for applications like giving each astronaut his or her own video feed, or sending back higher-resolution, data-rich images faster.”

Increasing data rates would allow scientists to spend more of their time on analysis than on spacecraft operations.

“It’s perfect when things are happening fast and you want a dense data set,” said Dave Pieri, a JPL research scientist and volcanologist.

Pieri has led past research on how laser comms could be used to study volcanic eruptions and wildfires in near real-time.

He added: “If you have a volcano exploding in front of you, you want to assess its activity level and propensity to keep erupting. The sooner you get and process that data, the better.”

That same technology could apply to erupting cryovolcanoes on icy moons around other planets. Pieri noted that compared to radio transmission of events like these, "laser comms would up the ante by an order of magnitude".

Getty Images

DATA: A solar eruption rises above the surface of the sun

UIG via Getty Images

INCREDIBLE: A beautiful photo of the Milky Way Galaxy by NASA's Spitzer Space TelescopeRelated articles